FBI at Brian Laundrie's North Port home to 'collect personal items for K9s to track his scent' as search heats up

FBI agents arrived at Brian Laundrie's North Port home on Thursday to "collect personal items for K9s to track his scent" as the search for Gabby Petito's fiancé intensifies.

The news comes as the FBI is said to be investigating reports of a burner phone bought on the day Laundrie went missing.


"The FBI is at the Laundrie home today to collect some personal items belonging to Brian that will assist the canines in their search for Brian. There is nothing more to this," Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said about the FBI's visit on Thursday.

Laundrie reportedly purchased a phone at the AT&T store on September 14 with an "older woman."

That's the last day Laundrie's parents Chris and Roberta, say they saw their son when he went off for a hike.

Agents are said to be looking into security footage taken at a store near his parent's home in North Port, Florida.

In a statement to The Sun, the store said: "We're not confirming or denying anything, and we're not making any statements, thank you and have a great day."

Bertolino said: "To my knowledge, they did purchase a new phone, and it's the same phone that Brian left home and which the FBI is in possession of."

Authorities had already seized Laundrie's cell phone, but mystery surrounds Gabby's mobile.

The 23-year-old has continued to evade federal authorities since he was reported missing on September 17.

Read our Brian Laundrie live blog for the very latest news and updates…

Laundrie's parents previously said they fear their son may hurt himself after leaving their Forth Port home without his personal belongings.

Online sleuths claim Roberta is using a burner phone to secretly contact her missing son.

The claim follows a string of alleged screengrabs shared by internet sleuths that appear to show FBI associates – namely Dog the Bounty Hunter's daughter Lyssa Chapman – engaging in conversation about the theory that has since done the rounds online.

However, it has not been suggested by any official source that Mrs Laundrie is using the burner phone to communicate with her son.

"We do not confirm or deny contact with any individual or entity in order to preserve their privacy, as such, we do not confirm or deny the receipt of any tip," the FBI said, according to Tampa 10 reporter Shannon Clowe.

"We have no additional comment, they added.

Since Laundrie's disappearance, sleuths have closely monitored his social media pages, claiming the 23-year-old is active online, having unfollowed several people on Instagram.



One theory pointing to his supposed possession of a burner phone came as users spotted changes to his Spotify and Instagram accounts.

They insisted they had proof that Laundrie allegedly created a Spotify playlist called 'Selfconsomption' shortly after Gabby vanished.

Online sleuths then allege that the playlist's name had changed to 'Nomatic Statik' – the name of the travel YouTube channel that Laundrie and Gabby created.

Another wild conspiracy tossed around is that Laundrie may be hiding on a boat to evade police after claims circulated on Twitter that he went live on Instagram for a matter of seconds on September 13.

A clip circulating on Twitter appears to show a body of water and the side of a green vessel before abruptly cutting out.

Viewers of the clip are attempting to claim that Laundrie "accidentally" went live on Instagram before realizing and hastily cutting off the feed.

So far, alleged sightings of Laundrie have been reported in Mexico, Canada, Venice Park, and Baker, Florida.

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